Singles
by iamhollywood
Summary: A series of glimpses into Beast Boy and Raven's life at differing stages in their relationship.
1. Chapter 1

OK so the basic idea behind this is for me to write one-shots and each one will be based off of the lyrics from one of the songs on The Smith's "Singles" album. Each one-shot will be some type of conversation or event between Raven and Beast Boy. I hope to get one out every two weeks, could be faster, could be slower. Let me know what you think though, constructive criticism is very welcome.

Park the car at the side of the road  
You should know  
Time's tide will smother you  
And I will too  
When you laugh about people who feel so  
Very lonely  
Their only desire is to die  
Well, I'm afraid  
It doesn't make me smile  
I wish I could laugh

But that joke isn't funny anymore  
It's too close to home  
And it's too near the bone  
It's too close to home  
And it's too near the bone  
More than you'll ever know ...

Kick them when they fall down  
Kick them when they fall down  
You kick them when they fall down  
Kick them when they fall down  
You kick them when they fall down  
Kick them when they fall down  
You kick them when they fall down  
Kick them when they fall down

It was dark as I drove the point home  
And on cold leather seats  
Well, it suddenly struck me  
I just might die with a smile on my face

After all

I've seen this happen in other people's lives  
Now it's happening in mine

Happening in mine  
Happening in mine  
Happening in mine  
Happening in mine

I've seen this happen  
in other people's lives  
Oh ...  
And now, now, now it's happening in mine  
(I've seen this happen)  
Happening in mine  
Oh... now, now  
I've seen this happen  
in other people's lives  
Oh ...  
And now it's happening in mine  
Happening in mine

"Don't call me that anymore." It had been odd to find Beast Boy up before me, odd the way he was cooking and hadn't even said good morning to me, not even a smile. He just kept scrambling those disgusting tofu eggs of his. I thought for a moment I would actually have a relaxing morning, but then he spoke.

"Call you what?" I called him a lot of things, but they were mostly in jest or in anger. I didn't really mean them. He should understand that, shouldn't he?

"Freak. I don't like being called a freak. Do you know what it means? I looked it up last night. It means an abnormally formed organism, especially a person or animal regarded as a curiosity or a monstrosity. When I was in the circus-"

"You were in the circus?"

"Yeah, my family died when I was three. I had a foster family and they died when I was seven so a circus took me in."

"I didn't know," I was beginning to feel pretty low at the moment. How long had I been his teammate, two, maybe three years? These were things I should have known, but when had I ever asked? I started to realize something else, most parents didn't let their teenage children run around in tights fighting villains. Had I ever once seen Robin or Cyborg's parents?

He carried on like he didn't hear me, still scrambling his eggs. "When I was at the circus I got called freak a lot and a lot of the people there didn't really like me. Guess I was to good looking for them," he said. It was a hollow joke if I'd ever heard one. "I just don't like being called freak, especially…especially not by someone else who's like me. I mean we got lucky ya know? We saved the city so we weren't freaks anymore, we're heroes, but sometimes I wonder what if we just wanted to live normal lives? My foster family was like us, a bunch of people with powers, but when they saved people they were still seen as freaks. We're not to different from them I mean, look at us a cyborg, a half-demon, an alien, and a green kid who can change into any animal living or extinct."

"What about Robin," I asked, still feeling like trash for ever having called Beastboy anything, whether it was in jest or not.

"He's the worst Rae, he's a freak lover. He hangs out with freaks, lives with them. They'd probably see if any of us rubbed off on him and then when they were done burn him at the stake."

I'd never seen him like this, so bitter and cynical all of a sudden. I kept expecting him to turn around. What would I see? I hoped whoever it was that it wasn't Beast Boy. What if it was Beast Boy though? Was he right? Did we just luck out? There was a part of me that said yes, but then another part… Did I even know Beast Boy? I had always thought of him, stereotyped him as the joker. He was an optimist, wasn't he? He was…marshmallows and good cheer, not this… this person who had taken personal offense at being called a freak. I didn't like this Beast Boy because he made me worry, made me wonder about myself. Had I always been this cold to my teammates?

"Guess we couldn't help it though, getting together I mean."

"What," I was honestly confused and not even sure if I wanted to hear where he was going with this conversation. In one morning he had destroyed the personality type I'd placed around him, did I really want to hear my thoughts on my teammates were wrong too?

"Us freaks, we were kinda put together and none of us have real families. I mean my family, Cy's family, Robin's family, your family, and Star's family are all gone, either dead, in another dimension, or on a different planet. It's like one of the three things we all have in common. The third one's the best though, cuz its like even though we don't have families and we're freaks we still go out and save the world because it's the right thing to do."

Oh my God, I was right. Robin, Cy their families were dead, where was I at? I had never once asked how they were or how their families were. The thought made me feel even worse. "We could be bitter," I said. I was bitter, but still… he was right. We were bigger than that somehow, he was bigger than that. Is that what it was? Was he showing himself bigger than his upbringing when he laughed? The thought made me smile, a boy who would laugh at fate, at bad luck.

"Yeah, I guess, but its like I don't want to be one of those kids always complaining about how bad stuff happened to them and they're bad because of it," he said as he placed his eggs on his plate. "I just want to help out and like I said we have this bond," he finished as he finally turned around to look at me.

It was him in all of his green glory, smiling with a fang hanging out of his lip. This was the Beast Boy I was used to and yet I couldn't shake what I 'd just heard him say. The team had been brought together and yet I'd never done anything to reach out to them, always assuming that I had it worst of all. Maybe I did, but that didn't mean I could treat them so badly. I wanted to be bigger than myself, than my problems and so for one of the first times in my life I apologized.


	2. Hand in Glove

Disclaimer: I don't own the titans and the song belongs to The Smiths and is entitled "Hand in Glove"

Farther: thanks for the review, I enjoy an insightful Beast Boy as well. He can't always be dumb right?

WickedWitch: Thanks for putting this on your alert list, speaking of which where's the last chapter of your story?

Lecheecopae: Here's another one, hope you like it.

No, it's not like any other love  
This one is different - because it's us

Hand in glove  
We can go wherever we please  
And everything depends upon  
How near you stand to me

And if the people stare  
Then the people stare  
Oh, I really don't know and I really don't care

I woke up that morning around ten. I wish sometimes that I could just like be up instead of having to wake up cuz then I wouldn't have to be all 'Ugh.' I could just be up and like be able to…to… whatever it is that people do when they're up in the morning and they're not 'Ugh.' Wait, there's something different about today. Something I am supposed to be doing. Oh man, its one of our days! I'm running to the bathroom as soon as my feet hit the floor, but I can't run too fast because I'm still… there's gotta be an animal that does well in the mornings, but I don't know it.

See I'm supposed to be meeting Raven this morning for our weekly walk or as I like to call it "Our Walk and Talk!" She doesn't like calling it that though. I think it's because she doesn't like to yell, which is totally cool with me because it fits her. I like things that fit her; actually, I just like her period.

So the whole walking with Raven started a month ago cuz we had an argument, which I hate doing with anybody, but especially her. We had this fight with HIVE and afterwards she just told me that we had to spend some time together alone. At the time I didn't really know how that was going to help. We were always together even if it was with the other Titans, but now I'm starting to see her point in the two of us just spending some time together without everybody else. We talk more now and we fight less. I'm not totally sure how it's helping us, but I think it has something to do with us just hanging out and knowing what hurts and what helps us or something like that.

I'm out the shower, dressed and down the hall within ten minutes cuz Raven hates lateness. Lateness never really bothered me a whole lot till I started dating Raven. I don't like getting Raven mad at me so I don't like being late, it's kinda weird how dating somebody can change your outlook like that. Anyways she's waiting for me at the elevator in jeans, a dark blue t-shirt, and a pair of sandals. It was crazy the first time I saw her in anything but her uniform, but now I'm getting used to it.

"Real subtle," she says after seeing how I'm dressed. I'm wearing jeans, my chuck tailors, and a t-shirt with a tofu cube drawn on the front. I can't help but be noticed; I'm green after all, its part of my nature. I smile at her, which makes Cyborg start making kissy lips and then Raven picks him up and throws him into another room with her telekinesis. It's pretty cool to see and I know he's not hurt or nothing because I hear him laughing in the other room. She motions for me to get on the elevator and I make the same motion at her so we both just get on at the same time.

One of my favorite parts is when the elevator door closes and there's this minute where nothing happens and then the next she's hugging me and I'm hugging her back. There's a security camera in the elevator, but she doesn't seem to care and I don't want to ask her about it cuz then she might not hug me. She doesn't like PDA (1) so we made a deal. She only eats meat once a week and I don't hug her without her hugging me first. The deal doesn't really work very well because her favorite meal is chicken pizza and she eats it a lot, plus I really like hugging her and can't wait for her to make the first move all the time cuz then I'd only get hugged once a week.

Just before the elevator stops she pulls away and I let go even though I'm not really ready too. We have to take the ferry to the city because Rae doesn't want us to use powers. She just wants to be normal. She's really big on normal when we're together because she said that she doesn't want us… she thinks we sometimes get sucked into our roles as Titans and we forget who we are sometimes. I can see her point, but at the same time I love my powers. I don't mind that a part of me is green and can turn into different animals. I see her side too, though. We get in this superhero mentality and kinda forget about the every day stuff around us, so…I dunno I just trust her judgment

The ferry is never on time, no matter how many complaints she leaves in the suggestion box at the dock. We just wait for a little bit and I try to make sure I'm awake because I know some things are going to be said and I really want to hear all of them. She's looking out at the water, tapping her left foot. She's not impatient, she's anxious and I kinda like this side of her. I look at her again and decide that I like the way she looks in jeans too and I can't really tell her that though cuz she might throw me in the ocean. Do girls even want to be told they look good in jeans? Even if they did I'm not sure she would, so I'll just think it. 'Raven you look good in jeans. Could you just wear jeans and a t-shirt instead of…?' "Here it comes," she says, breaking my thought conversation, which is kind of sad because I thought I was getting somewhere with it.

The ferry isn't too bad today because there's not a lot of people around. Raven gets nervous when there's a lot of people around. They like to ask us for autographs and they want to talk to us and I just want to talk to Raven, but I don't want to be a jerk to people so it gets tricky sometimes. Oh and there's these guys and girls that just want to be with us and that's even weirder cuz we don't even know them. Like there was this one guy that actually proposed to Raven once and I would have thought it was funny, but the guy was totally serious and Raven was freaking out. That was the only day we broke the rule and actually used our powers to make it the rest of the way to the city. So like I was saying nobody was really on the boat and the ride was nice, but I couldn't get that Raven's jeans conversation in my mind started again.

I think if I don't get that conversation in my mind going again then I'm probably going to say something out loud. Raven says I need to think before I talk, which is kinda funny because there wasn't a whole lot of thought put into asking her out. I just kinda did it. She's right though, I guess. One of the things I really want to talk to her about is holding hands. This isn't a major issue I guess, but I just want to know when I can hold her hand.

Some guys would just do it. They'd walk up to a girl and just take her hand, but I don't want to take her hand. I want our hands to come together and that's all. Green on lavender and let that be it. I know she's not big on PDA (1), but it can't hurt to hold hands, can it? So I'm just gonna ask her when I'm ready.

Sigh, we've been walking for a couple hours and I still haven't said it and I need to say it cuz if I don't think I my brain's going to explode. Truth? There's this really weird tension between us and I don't know how to break it. Like normally I'd try a joke, but she doesn't find my jokes that funny and it gets even quieter then. So like the only thing I can think of is to just grab her hand. 'I'm not going to take it, Rae, I swear I'm not. If you want it back just ask,' and I can't do it. I stop, which makes her stop and she's looking at me. I try and my voice squeaks, so I try again before she can laugh. "Um Rae…," I forgot to add the 'ven,' better hurry, "ven can I hold your hand. I mean, can we hold hands?" It's the dumbest question I think I've ever asked or at least I feel the dumbest I ever have.

She kinda blushes a little bit and is real quiet. Like she's saying words, but I can't really hear what she's saying, which means she's being really quiet because I have super hearing. What can I say? The pointy ears aren't just for show.

"Uh Raven I can't really hear what you're say-"

"OK." She looked nervous, like the night when we first hugged and I don't really know what to tell her. I walk towards her real slow in case she decides to change her mind. I'm not totally dumb. I realize this is a really big thing for her because it requires her to trust somebody, to trust me more than she likes to admit. I hold out my hand to her cuz I swore I wouldn't take her's, she has to give it to me. She gives me this look and I think she's glad I gave her a choice, but it doesn't really matter because she takes my hand in hers. It's cool, really cool, not her hand, but the feeling of holding her hand and it makes me wonder what it would be like to kiss her. I'm not really brave enough to ask yet, but I am brave enough to tell her she looks good in jeans. I'll tell her later though, for now I just want to enjoy this.

1- PDA stands for public display of affection for those of you who didn't know that.


	3. How Soon is Now

WickedWitch: thanks for compliments, when are we going to see more of your writing though?

Teleportal: thanks, glad you liked the cuteness

RAEXROB4EVER: Thanks, I wouldn't worry about your user name 

Lady Pyrefly: yeah I definitely want BB to be a little more mature than he is usually written because people have to change a little over time right?

Draco Blade: Here's more, thanks.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, DC does. The 'How Soon is Now' belongs to The Smiths and some band does a bad cover of it as the opening song to that show Charmed in case you were wondering. I realize some of you may not like this story because it Raven doesn't wind up with Beast Boy at the end. I said when I started this that I wanted to explore all aspects part of the relationship between Raven and Beast Boy and I believe that friendship is one of them. I think Raven and BB are a little more mature now so BB isn't going to be as much of spaz in this story.

------- indicates passage of time

HOW SOON IS NOW?  
I am the son  
and the heir  
of a shyness that is criminally vulgar  
I am the son and heir  
of nothing in particular

You shut your mouth  
how can you say  
I go about things the wrong way  
I am human and I need to be loved  
just like everybody else does

There's a club if you'd like to go  
you could meet somebody who really loves you  
so you go, and you stand on your own  
and you leave on your own  
and you go home, and you cry  
and you want to die

When you say it's gonna happen "now"  
well, when exactly do you mean?  
see I've already waited too long  
and all my hope is gone

"Going out again?"

"Yeah, the girl's can't get enough of me."

"Funny that these girls never call here nor have I ever seen you call them."

"One just called."

"Really? I don't recall hearing the phone ring. Perhaps I was too engrossed in my reading."

"Yeah, maybe. So what're you doing?"

"I thought I'd enjoy the silence and read. Its been quite lately."

"Yeah…well anyways I'm going, have a good night."

"Garfield."

"What's up?"

"Why do you go out night after night?"

"I told you the chi-"

"No, Garfield, really, why do you go out?"

"…"

"I'm sorry, you don't have to answer."

"Well its kind of boring here. Vic's been hanging out with Titans East a lot. Dick and Kory are always around each other now. Me and you have never really had anything in common so why spend time in the Tower."

"You're not just going out, though, you're searching for a girlfriend. Why do that with all of your time?"

"It's what people do Raven. I mean I can't just sit around and think about Terra all the time. That was two years ago, so I have to try and meet some new people. What about you though? Why do you always stay in?"

"I like quiet places."

"No, really, why do you stay in?"

"If you think mocking me is going to get me to say-"

"Wrong answer, try again."

"…"

"Oh come on Rae I told you the truth, why can't you do the same."

"Fine, I like staying here because it's safer."

"Oh come off it Raven. You had to have gained some control over your powers in the last few years, I know for a fact you have, so you can't use that excuse anymore."

"I just prefer not to go out."

"Is it because of the dragon guy?"

"This conversation is over."

"Hey. Hey! Raven you can't just fly away from your problems! See you're making fun of me because I go out and fail at meeting people, but at least I try! You just sit in your room and meditate and read and avoid people! You may be brave when you're fighting people, but socially you're a coward! What? You think can make your eyes glow black and I'm going to stop? Please, I'm not fourteen anymore Raven. You don't scare me."

"…"

"Go ahead throw me in the ocean. You know you want to and I'm not going to stop you. You always talk about how I should be more open and honest, but you're a hypocrite."

"That's a big word Garfield. Are you sure you're using it correctly?"

"…Yeah, can you put me down now?"

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Have a good night."

"You're going with me."

"Excuse me?"

"I said you're going with me."

"When did I agree to this?"

"You didn't, but you're coming anyways. You gotta get out Raven, try again. Come on we'll go wherever you want to go, even one of those creepy tea places you like going."

"…OK, but just this once."

"Totally. You never know, maybe we'll see that goth kid you hang out with sometimes."

"Be still my beating heart."

----------------------------------------------------

"See that wasn't so bad."

"Define bad."

"Raven don't start. I saw you flirting with the waiter and you even took his number."

"…"

"C'mon Raven you know you did."

"Doesn't mean I'm going to call him."

"Well not right away, no, you're supposed to wait at least three days so as not to seem desperate. What was his name? Was it Billy or Bobby? Didn't he act or paint or something…"

"His name is William and he has acted in several plays. He has two brothers and…"

"Yeah you're not interested in him one bit are we?"

"…At least I got a number."

"Low blow Raven."

"Goodnight Garfield and thanks for the night out."

"Night Raven."


	4. Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now

Disclaimer: I don't own the Titans and the song lyrics to "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" and the title belongs to The Smiths. Also I really like Catcher in the Rye and no, I'm not a serial killer.

Lady Pyrefly: thanks so much, I was trying hard to be a little different in the third chapter, so I'm glad it worked out.

Loaned: thanks, there will be rae/bb in it, but…part of the reason I wanted to do this series of one-shots is to show that their relationship is multi-dimensional, not just romance or friendship or rivalry, but a combination of all of those things.

Iuz the Old: thanks

RoseMage: thanks

WicketWitchoftheSE: totally understand, thanks for your review.

RyokoJesseandFiend: always good to see a review from you, I hope you're continuing to write as I always love your style. You're definitely an inspiration.

Jin Flows: Thanks for all the props on this story and the previous stories I've written. I'm glad you're enjoying it. I've had the first copy of this story done for a while, just took me a bit of time to actually sit down and edit. Hope it's up to standards, please feel free to criticize

Thanks to everyone else who just read.

I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour  
but heaven knows I'm miserable now  
I was looking for a job, and then I found a job  
and heaven knows I'm miserable now

"Well this is interesting," she said as she entered the bookstore. She never admitted it to anyone, but she liked the look of surprise on his face when she found him doing something he didn't normally do or, in most cases, wasn't supposed to be doing. It always started with his eyebrows arching up, his eyes bulging just a little and his mouth opening a bit wider than normal before exhaling. Then came the best part, the part when his face clearly said, "I'm thinking of an excuse, just pretend you didn't see what you saw and be patient with me."

He didn't disappoint her, the eyebrows, the bulging of the eyes, the brief exhale, followed by an expression that was a mixture of panic, embarrassment and craft that appeared on his face within a few seconds. "Uh hey Raven, what brings you here," he asked, obviously making time so as to think up an excuse for himself. He briefly looked down at himself and saw that his work apron clearly said 'Walter's Book Emporium'. Aliens might have been a good route, possibly even a believable one, but he just didn't feel like it right now.

She noticed he was somewhat late with his excuse. "Robin told me I needed to pick you up from work at the mall since you can't drive, he had a date with Starfire and Victor is currently fixing the T-Car." He simply nodded, an opening for a light verbal jab if she'd ever seen one. "So I never thought I'd see you in an apron," she said with her usual sarcasm, hoping he would give her one of his patented excuses, one that would most likely involve badly drawn diagrams and a host of aliens.

"Yeah, it's uh, the new style," he said as he began to pull some books out of the box and place them on their respective shelves.

Something was wrong here she decided. The joke was dead on delivery, even his cheesiest jokes had some bit of bravado, this one just hung there, begging to be killed. He hadn't even given her a smile, something he was known for by all of his friends. She decided she would try again, "So I didn't think that Harlequin romances were really your style. Are you more of a Western loner meeting the town beauty with a past type of reader or something boring like a medieval knight rescuing a damsel in distress?" When she didn't receive an answer she looked for him among the racks of books and saw him sitting down in front of the science fiction section filing the books away alphabetically.

"Hey Raven I'll meet you out in the mall I just gotta finish putting these last few books up, ok," he asked without even looking up at her.

"Alright Beast Boy, but hurry please," she said, somewhat dejected at the lack of conversation from him.

"OK."

Raven walked back into the main area of the mall and sat down on a bench not too far from the bookstore that Beast Boy worked in. As she waited she simply watched the cleaning people go about their business, either too tired to notice her or to apathetic about her role as a titan to give her a second glance. Her friend emerged from the bookstore shortly after and wordlessly sat beside her, laying his head on the wall behind them.

After a few moments of silence she began to get uncomfortable as she was unused to a silent Beast Boy. "Are you read-"

"I hate my job," he said, interrupting her.

"Oh." This was odd as Beast Boy rarely used the word hate. He disliked people's eating of meat. He abhorred silence. He despised dog jokes for some weird reason that seemed to only make sense to him. But he had never outright said he hated something. Raven would later tell friends that it was because of this once in a lifetime moment that she felt she should somehow comfort him in some way or another in the most friendly manner she could muster. "Why?"

"It's just…like people are all happy when I'm a titan and I get fan mail, but when I'm at this job it sucks because people treat us like crap Raven. They just walk all over us. This woman came in today and was shocked that we didn't have any copies of Catcher in the Rye and then started giving me this big lecture on how the youth are going to hell in a handbasket and bookstores are the reason why because we don't carry classics. Also, I don't like books or reading so it's really weird that I'm working in a book store."

"I will admit that its' rather ironic."

"It's what?"

"Weird," she said with a sigh.

"Yeah and it's like there's no appreciation at all. Like minimum wage is supposed to make it all better. I'm not trying to complain cuz I know it's a job, but still…"

"So if you don't like it why are you still working here? The city pays for all of our basic needs."

"Yeah, but I wanted to work here for a few months so I could get the money to buy a moped and then quit. I'm not sure if I can hang in much longer though."

"Beast Boy you realize you'd have to work this job forever if buying a moped was your primary goal. You'd have to pay for gas and upkeep on the moped."

"Oh man you're right," he said getting up. Already Raven could sense he was about to go into full on rant mode, complete with chalkboard and conspiracy theories so she quickly decided to change topic.

"What about you though? You can't expect people to always treat you like a hero or a star. This is how normal people live. They have jobs and some of them like their jobs and others don't. They get complimented and criticized and in the end they're working to get what they want or need. So it's not as if you're really being treated unfairly here."

"Yeah I guess, but I still think I need to find another job. Me and books just don't mix."

"Agreed," she said, "but doing what?" When he didn't respond she decided to try being helpful again. "There's a paper back at the tower with some want ads in it if you want to look and get an idea."

"Cool, can you help?"

"I suppose," she said as she stood and slowly began to walk towards the mall exit. "So a woman asked about Catcher in the Rye?"

"Yeah," he said as he caught up with her, easily matching her stride despite the fact that she was a few inches taller than him.

"Odd."

"Why is it odd? Isn't it like a famous book or something?"

"Well yes, but part of its popularity is due to the fact that many serial killers have had an interest in that book."

"Oh, so maybe I should stay at the bookstore and maybe catch people buying-"

"Beast Boy."

"Yeah?"

"Don't," she said, hoping he wouldn't think too much of the arm she placed around his shoulder as they exited the mall.


	5. I Started Something I Couldn't Finish

The Smiths I Started Something I couldn't Finish

Disclaimer: As usual I don't own the characters and the song belongs to The Smith's… ah well.

OK so this was kind of an experiment as well. I had a very small snippet of an idea and I just wanted to sit down and let it flow, whereas the past few were a bit harder to write and seemed to come in sections. The idea for this one was harder to come by than the other ones though… Oh and I have no idea why they would be going on a road trip or where they're headed.

WickedWitchoftheSE heh great, glad you liked it. I like Catcher, but people do react rather oddly to it. (one of the members of school district made it his goal to get that book out of our libraries, which is rather odd as we had worse books, but oh well)

RavenMasteroftheTele: Thanks for all your reviews

Iuz the Old: Thanks, I'm glad you see that because it's what I'm going for.

Lady Pyrefly: thanks so much. I liked the dog joke too 

RoseMage: yeah sometimes I take a while and other times it doesn't take me much at all.

Jin Flows: Thanks I definitely work to be different from other writers, to have my own style. Thanks.

The lanes were silent  
with nothing or no one around for miles  
I doused our friendly venture  
with a hard-faced  
three-word gesture  
I started something  
I forced you into a zone  
and you were clearly  
never meant to go  
hair brushed and parted  
typical me, typical me  
typical me  
I started something  
...and now I'm not too sure  
I grabbed you by the gilded beams  
that's what Tradition means  
and now eighteen months' hard-labour  
seems..fair enough

and I doused another venture  
with a gesture  
that was...absolutely vile

At the ripe old age of twenty-two Garfield Logan was able to form a new dislike. He had once thought that one of the worst things in the world he could ever have to do was to take a long road trip by himself. The silence would have killed him, of this he was certain. Today had proven him wrong though. The worst thing ever was to be sentenced to a long road trip with a very angry Raven, who was currently driving a rented Dodge Neon. The car's size only seemed to make the silence echo and reverberate throughout the car. He had tried to break it earlier by humming, but quickly stopped when he felt the car shake and watched as a black aura started to slowly close in around him.

He wasn't really sure, well, ok, fine, he was sure how it had started. It had begun when Raven had nearly gotten them killed by speeding through a very red light and a tanker truck had just missed striking Beast Boy's side of the car. As the truck had not hit them and they had not been pulled over for reckless driving, he would have normally shrugged it off, but today was different. Since today was different he found himself saying, "Your driving sucks." Actually he had shouted it and then began to go into the various reasons her driving was horrible, recounting each mistake she had ever made and each accident she had ever been in. He then finished with a reminder that it had taken her four years to get her driver's license and that perhaps another four years might aid her in her endeavor to become a better driver.

She had in turn retaliated by simply going silent. That had been nearly two hundred miles ago and they still had another three hundred left to drive. For the first fifty he had amused himself by trying to imitate the sounds of various animals he saw on the side of the road. This soon became boring though and so he simply twiddled his thumbs, while simultaneously arguing with his conscience. The argument went as follows:

'Don't you feel kind of bad for yelling at her?"

'No.'

'It's not like you've never made a mistake before.'

'Yeah, and she always yells at me, so why shouldn't I do it to her?'

'You're better than that.'

'Well I don't want to be better than that right now. I hate having to apologize to her all the time.'

'So you're not going to apologize?'

'Maybe later.'

After the argument he had tried calling one of the other Titans, but they had all been busy. He looked over at her and saw that a scowl had settled onto her face. He decided that this was not a good sign and that perhaps an apology of some sort was in order. He sucked in his breath thinking over what an apology to Raven would actually mean.

A few years ago he and Victor had been sitting by the pool looking out at the setting of the sun. This was not because they wanted to, but rather because they had played a joke on Raven that hadn't gone too well and as a result they had been thrown outside and the doors to the Tower had been sealed shut with… "Magic. Man, I hate magic," Vic said as he simply sat there, his brain computing all of his available options, all of which turned up negative.

Garfield simply nodded his head, too tired to be really mad. "We've gotta apologize," Vic sighed, giving up on anyway of getting through Raven's defenses.

"Yeah."

"I hate apologizing to her though, man. Apologizing to her is like…dragging yourself through broken glass. First you have to say I'm sorry."

"Then she makes you tell her what you did that was wrong," Gar said.

"Why it was wrong."

"Then, finally, why you were wrong for having done what you did in the first place."

"And you still get the cold shoulder for the next two hours," they echoed.

"It's like crawling on broken glass," Vic said, still looking at the sunset.

Gar nodded and after a minute turned to his friend and said, "You ready?"

"Yeah," Vic sighed again and pulled himself up, hoping they were ready for whatever Raven had for them.

That was the question though, was he ready? Yes, he had shouted at her because he had been scared and angry. Yes, he had hurt her feelings because he had let his emotions get a hold of him. Yes, he had been in the wrong. So maybe he deserved whatever Raven dished out. He took a deep breath and, "Raven?"

She merely glared at him and then turned back to the road. He had briefly forgotten she was the queen of grudge holding, which meant the apology was going to have to be even bigger.

"I'm sorry for um shouting at you."

She looked at him, lips tight, eyes clearly glaring daggers, then turned away. Slowly the car began to accelerate as Garfield began to gulp just a little. "I'm sorry for calling you a bad driver and for making fun of you and humiliating you and um...," he racked his brain for anything else he had done recently that he was sorry for, but couldn't come up with anything so he went on to the next phase. "I know it hurt your feelings and I shouldn't do that because you're my friend and I'm really, really sorry." Definitely not his best apology, but it seemed to calm her just a little. The scowl became a frown, but there was still silence in the car. He hadn't expected anything less though, so he simply let his chair back and stared at the ceiling of the car.

After ten miles she spoke. "You don't know why I'm mad do you?" It was a calm, clear question, something he hadn't expected at all.

"Uh no, I guess not," he said, easing his chair back up.

"I'm not mad because you yelled at me about my driving record. I'm mad because you didn't trust me."

"What? I trust you!"

"You didn't."

"I do too Raven!"

"Then why did you freak out when the truck almost hit you?"

"Because I…," he couldn't really come up with an answer. If he could trust Raven to put up a shield around him in battle, why not while they were driving?

"If I'm your friend then you shouldn't have to worry so much around me. It hurt that you thought I would let you get hit by a truck, that I would let you die."

"Raven," he said slowly, trying to make sure he would say the right words for once in his life, "I know you would never hurt me on purpose, but accidents happen right? I mean I'm not saying you wouldn't do everything in your power to make sure I was ok, but there are things outside of our control…and also you ran through a red light, which freaked me out, ya know?"

"I suppose," she said stiffly, looking somewhat uncomfortable and no longer attempting any sort of eye contact with him.

"I…I'm not even sure what to say. Raven you know I consider you one of my best friends, right?" He wasn't sure if he'd ever told her that or if he'd even said it aloud, but there it was for all to hear.

"Well it isn't like you have many options," she said after a moment, a small smirk on her face. "I'm still mad at you though."

"I know. I just thought you would want to know that you're…and that I…"

"I know," followed by silence, both letting it just hang there between them, neither exactly sure how to communicate feeling or even self for that matter, so they sat there till it faded.

After another fifteen miles, she looked over at him again. "Maybe I can allow you some slack on the silent treatment since we do still have a few hundred miles ahead of us."

"Yeah? How much," he asked, trying his best to keep the neediness out of his voice.

She paused and squinted her eyes, still focused on the road. "Another ten miles?"

"Sure, wouldn't want to damage your rep or anything." He used every muscle in his face to keep his mouth from erupting into a grin.

"Thanks."

"No problem."


	6. William, It Was Really Nothing

"Oh, no, and everybody's got to live their life  
And God knows I've got to live mine  
God knows I've got to live mine  
William, William it was really nothing  
William, William it was really nothing  
It was your life ...

How can you stay with a fat girl who'll say :  
"Oh ! Would you like to marry me?  
"And if you like you can buy the ring"  
She doesn't care about anything  
Would you like to marry me?  
And if you like you can buy the ring"

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and the song "William, It Was Really Nothing" belongs to The Smiths. Oh well…

Author's Note: You might say how does this piece of the song relate to the story? Well to me the song seems to be about simply just settling for anybody to have a relationship with and it not really ending up so well, but then again that's just my interpretation of the song.

Iuz the Old: yeah the last story didn't end quite the way I wanted to, but I'm glad you enjoyed it.

RobinlovesStar: yeah I have no idea why I thought Raven would be a bad driver, but I just get that vibe from her character. Thanks for the review!

WickedWitchoftheSE: Thanks for the love!

Lady Pyrefly: Thanks as always.

Ravenmasteroftele: Not sure if this counts as soon, but I tried to be for what that's worth, hope you like it.

RoseMage: Thanks so much as always.

SxStrngSamurai13: thanks, I really do want to write BB and Raven outside of their normal situations and their typical conversations. Hopefully this one worked as well. Thanks so much for your honesty and your in depth review.

Now on with the story…

"She's the one," Garfield said while staring at a young petite volleyball player, who was currently oblivious not only to the boy's attentions, but oblivious to him as well.

"Really," his friend said dryly, unsurprised by his comment as it was one he often made when they were out together.

"Definitely, I mean she's got a killer personality, looks hot in a bathing suit. What more could I ask for?"

"Substance," Raven said after taking a sip. At some point in their friendship it had become her job to keep him grounded, while his was to drag her kicking and screaming into experiences and relationships she most likely would never have had otherwise. This particular outing was an example of the latter, while what she knew would soon become a quick criticism on the subject of her friend's staring, if not a full blown argument, would be an example of the former. It was a symbiotic relationship, though she believed he enjoyed his job more than she did hers.

"She's got plenty of…substance," he said, trying not to drool all over himself as he watched the girl go up to spike the ball and then totally miss.

Seeing the glazed look come over her friend Raven decided to change her tactics on quickly killing her friend's potentially destructive, not to mention humiliating fantasy. "According to most relationship experts there are close to ten thousand women or men that a person could meet and have a successful relationship with."

That one had apparently been enough for Gar to at least lose his focus on the girl for a few seconds. "Maybe, but what's the chance I'd actually meet any of those ten thousand women. Now this one," he said with a point towards the volleyball court, "I see and will now meet." He got up and gave his friend a casual wink before making his way down towards the beach.

Raven simply let him go, knowing full well that her younger friend often felt the need to learn things the hard way.

Two minutes later the waiter arrived with their food and watched as a green young man in his twenties began to make his way off the beach.

"How was I supposed to know the guy holding her stuff was her boyfriend," he said sheepishly as he walked back to their table.

"Yes well, kissing somebody doesn't always mean anything now does it," she said, laying on the sarcasm.

"Oh come on some brothers kiss their sisters."

She stared at him for a moment before saying, "Don't play dumb."

"You know you like it Rae," he said with quick wink and a smirk.

His ability to bounce back from disappointment had always been a wonder to Raven and at the same time something she was extremely envious of. "Hardly. You know you'd probably have an easier time meeting women if you were more realistic about it."

"What do you mean," Gar said as he began to squirt ketchup over his fries and Veggie Burger.

"Perhaps you should allow more than two minutes of staring at a girl to help you make your final decision on a girl's character and what she might or might not be in your life."

"Think three minutes would do it," he said, happily popping a French fry into his mouth.

Raven for her part, ignored his comment and continued on, "Take for example the girl you were staring at earlier. What do you see in her?"

"Sub-" a quirk of his friend's eyebrow let him know she was serious, "blonde hair, tan skin, an OK smile, nice bathing suit."

"An OK smile?"

"Yeah it's not great, but…"

"Why would you be interested in somebody who only has an OK smile?"

"Well not everyone can have a great smile Rae."

"Do you want a great smile?"

"Well…yeah I guess."

"What else do you want," she said, sipping from her tea again before cutting into her quiche and watching the steam rise ever so slowly. Small things like this made her happy.

"Physically," he asked, enjoying the conversation as it did focus on him after all.

"All of it, personality, physically, mentally," Raven said, as she took a bite of her quiche, letting the taste roll over her tongue then swallowing.

"I want…a great smile and great eyes-"

"How do you define that?"

"I dunno…"

"Well you must have some basis for what great eyes and a great smile look like."

"Yeah, I guess," he said as he tried not to look too hard at Raven's eyes or her lips.

"So…"

"I'd want her to be fit," he mumbled with a mouthful of food, then swallowed. "I'd want her to be smart because I'm not, but not so smart we can't talk. I'd want to be able to have fun with her, not like that Rae," he finished with a smirk, causing his friend to blush ever so slightly. "I'd want to be able to hang out with her, but she needs to be independent because I don't want to be suffocated and also…if I die I'd want her to be able to make it on her own."

She'd never heard her friend even admit that death was a possibility for him. To tell the truth she hadn't even seen it at as an option for Garfield. The two just didn't go together. She had always believed he would continue to stay the same age, making the same dumb jokes, dragging her out of her room, making sure she had a birthday party whether or not she wanted one…till the end of time. She looked at him closely for a moment and saw that he had changed since they were children, his face less round. His smile was less goofy; more purposeful than before. "OK let's take some of the attributes you just listed and apply them to the girl you just hit on. You've already said she doesn't have a great smile. How about her eyes?"

"They're ok," he said. Now that he thought about it the girl's eyes had been a simple shade of brown, nothing really special about them.

"From what I've read of her emotions she's rather needy. What about her intelligence?"

"I don't really know her so…"

"That brings me to my second point. You might want to actually know a girl before you go around calling her 'the one'. You don't want to just waste your time on any girl do you?"

"But it's been so long since I've had a date. I'm going crazy here, Rae."

"You dated a hot dog vendor last week," she said.

"Yeah I did, didn't I? Can you do me a favor and not tell anyone else about that?"

"If you promise to take your time more when choosing a potential date then I promise that the hot dog vendor stays a secret."

"OK," he said. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"What are you looking for in a guy?"

Raven leaned back in her chair, not particularly enjoying the role reversal, but believing it to be a fair one. Briefly she mused on the few relationships she'd had and the occasional date and then finally, "Someone who…I want someone mature, but not arrogant. I want someone who's," she paused briefly to keep the word 'fun' from escaping from her mouth, "-who has a jovial demeanor. They need to have-"

"Substance?"

"Yes."

"You didn't say they had to read a lot."

"No I suppose I didn't."

"Why?"

"I…the last few men I've dated were well-read, but they…the relationships weren't balanced. I don't want to have everything in common with my boyfriend. I used to think that I wanted to talk about books all the time, but now that I've actually had the opportunity it's not as much fun as I thought it would be."

"Oh…so what about looks? Don't tell me you're not lookin' for a hot bod."

She rolled her eyes, but chewed thoughtfully on a bite of quiche before answering. "I like skinny guys with a little bit of muscle, but not a lot. I like dark hair and soulful eyes."

"Goths?"

"No."

"You just said skinny guys with black hair."

"No, I said skinny guys with dark hair. Dark and black isn't necessarily the same thing. Besides a person can be skinny, have dark hair and still not be Goth."

"What's the difference between dark and black?"

"Dark isn't a color it's a description of a color. You can have dark blonde hair or dark brown hair," or even dark green hair she admitted to herself.

"Oh, so anything else?"

"Well, as long as the guy can put up with me, and has the other attributes I listed then I'd be perfectly happy."

"Psshh like putting up with you is some great challenge."

"You think it's easy?"

"Sure, just throw a couple copies of Dostoevsky's latest-"

"He's been dead for quite a while now."

"Fine, throw a couple copies of The Idiot at you, a little bit of TLC, maybe a few romantic gestures without seeming too creepy and you'd be like putty in any man's hands."

"Oh, really? You think I'm that simple?"

"No, the TLC bit is kind of hard to come by. They probably have to caress your face at just the right speed, gaze into your eyes just long enough. You're complex like that. You'd have to let them hold you too, which means they would have had to have gained your trust, which isn't the easiest thing in the world to do."

"And yet you managed it," she said, not meaning to have let the words slip out. There was nothing awkward in its phrasing though, or even in the way she looked away ever so slightly.

"And yet I managed it," he agreed as he took a sip from his glass and briefly wondered how they'd gotten where they were at. He smiled, making eye contact with her for the first time that evening. She allowed herself a brief smirk and enjoyed the silence between them.


	7. Panic

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and the title belongs to the Smiths

RoseMage: thanks so much for your review. I'm glad you found it original, definitely one of my main goals in writing these stories

Realitychanger: the fluff comes and goes just like any relationship J

SxStrngSamurai13: there will be some more fluffy shots, this one might be kinda fluffy, depends on how you look at it. I definitely have some fluff planned. I really appreciate your reviews and please feel free to criticize

Rainbow Jess: Thanks!

Iuz the Old: Thanks, I think Raven would too, but at the same time…it's Beast Boy

I feel awfully random: like the name, what about the second chapter was confusing. Just so I'll know for future stories. Thanks for reviewing

WickedWitchoftheSE: Thanks for letting me know what you think

Dakyu: Thanks, I totally agree with you on the fact that the word Love is used way to casually and I'm trying not to do that in these stories. Glad you enjoyed the story!

"Hang the blessed D.J.  
Because the music that they constantly play  
IT SAYS NOTHING TO ME ABOUT MY LIFE"

Garfield Logan was having a normal day, at least, it was normal by his standards. He had argued with Vic over who was cooking breakfast and what was going to be made. He had complained to Dick that he was working them too hard and had simultaneously made Star laugh till milk shot out of her nose, all in all a very good day. Still, there was something he had yet to do today, piss Raven off.

It wasn't that he meant to piss the older girl off, it's just something that happened, sort of like falling off a bike. He had admitted to himself that he might be better off, both physically and emotionally, if he simply left the girl to her own devices. It was good advice, sound advice, and yet, he still ignored it time and again. There was just something about her that seemed to draw him to her. He used to think it might just be curiosity.

He had plenty to be curious about too. There was the obvious fact that she was female, which to most men would be enough to draw their curiosity. She was dark, mysterious, bitter at times, peaceful and stronger than anything or anyone he'd ever come in contact with. Those aspects of her drew him in part, but there was something more still. If he was simply curious he would have stopped bugging her three years ago when they'd finally defeated her father, once and for all.

He found himself just as clueless about this draw a few minutes later when he stood before her door, hoping beyond hope she'd talk to him for more than three minutes before throwing him out. It wasn't that they'd never talked or that she hated him, at least he didn't think she did. They had had conversations, but never in her room. They were always somewhere neutral like the common room or the kitchen. Places that were easy for her to leave if the conversation started getting uncomfortable or too personal. Her room was something intensely personal, a part of her and, to him, a place he very much wanted to be a part of.

So here he stood at the door wondering if Raven knew he was out here. 'Of course she does,' he thought to himself just before knocking on the door. The door opened almost immediately, giving him a view of a very blank faced Raven. He hated that face because it always seemed to say, "You mean nothing to me. You don't make me happy. You don't make me curious. You don't make me angry. I don't wonder about you. I don't even think about you. Leave or stay, it really doesn't matter to me because that's how little you matter in my world."

"Can I help you," Raven asked, a bit of irritation showing in her voice already. In a way it was a good sign. He had known that her blank faced stares were really just an act, but still it didn't hurt to see a little emotion, even if said emotion wasn't necessarily a positive one.

"Uh," he said, quickly running the gamut of his mind, hoping something smart would come to mind for him to say. Instead he said, "Yeah can I be in your room." He licked his lips, wondering why he'd said exactly what he'd…he sucked at subtlety. Almost immediately he let his body go limp like Dick had shown him so that the impact against the nearest wall wouldn't hurt quite as bad. However, no impact came, at least not physically.

"Why," she asked with, was that a hint of curiosity in her tone? It was a good question though, one he couldn't answer 100 truthfully or could he?

"Um just wanted to hang out?" Honesty really did seem like the best policy today.

"With my room," Raven asked, barely masking a smirk.

"What? No, with you."

"You want to be in my room with me in it?"

The question made him blush and he quite literally prayed to God she hadn't seen it. "Uh yeah, if that's OK?"

"Well I'm reading right now. I don't have any video games or an-"

"Oh that's cool. I just want to hang out."

She gave him a hard stare and he imagined she was looking for the gene in him that caused him to say dumb things without thinking. "OK, but just for an hour and try not to talk to loud."

"OK," he said, barely able to control his excitement. An hour! A whole hour! Ten minutes were all he'd hoped for, fifteen tops, but an hour with Raven in her room was much too good. He would do his best not to screw it up. He simply sat by her bed, trying his best not to say a word. For ten minutes the plan seemed to be working, but then his brain or lack there of kicked in. "So do you have any CDs to listen to?"

"There's some over by the CD player," she said pointing out a very plain white CD player on her dresser. How could he have missed it? It wasn't like it was camouflaged or anything, not with the majority of Raven's room either being dark purples or black. He glanced over the CDs and realized he was stumped. He had never heard of any of these bands, which wasn't to say he knew a lot of bands. He'd always been the sort that simply liked songs they heard on the radio, but never really made an effort to follow the artist or band. If he had a CD it was usually because a friend had gotten it for him.

Still, he knew Raven and he knew she most likely wouldn't have gone for the stuff MTV played anyways. He grabbed a random CD and placed it in the CD player as carefully as possible before closing the lid and hitting the play button. He went back to sit down with his back to her bed before realizing that there wasn't any music playing. "Whoops," he said as he began to stand back up, but was halted by Raven's hand on his shoulder.

"The CD takes a few minutes to start," she said before returning to her book. He nodded and simply sat back, willing himself to be patient. Finally, just as he began to think of where he could put a rubber duck in Raven's room without her noticing, he heard music. Well, not exactly music or at least not like music he had heard before. He could hear drums, a guitar and a woman singing, but…it was odd.

After a few minutes he realized that he didn't understand a word the woman was singing so he quietly crept to the CD player and pulled out the case. He opened the case and pulled out the sleeve hoping to find lyrics of some sort, even if they were in a foreign language, but to no avail.

"She's not singing actual words Beast Boy," Raven said quietly, not even lifting her eyes from her book.

"Oh right, I knew that." He was silent for a moment and then Annoying Garfield came out in all of his glory, the very thing he'd been trying to hold back for the last several minutes. "So why do you listen to it if you can't understand it?" These were words he was sure would get him thrown out of her room in no time, but he seemed to have no control over them. Much to his surprise though, Raven didn't get mad. She simply set down her book and looked at him.

"I don't have to understand what she's saying. I can feel what she's saying."

"Oh, well what language is she singing in," he said as he sat back down, happy to give her his attention.

"It's one she made up."

"Why," he said and then gulped, sure that he was on thin ice.

"She didn't want her words to distract from the music," she said as if it were perfectly reasonable.

Garfield himself normally never had a problem ignoring the lyrics in a song, the singer's voice was simply another instrument to him, much like the woman singing now. "So why don't you ever listen to the radio," he asked.

"How do you know I don't," she asked, curious as how to close Garfield paid attention to her.

"I've never seen you do it before."

"I do from time to time, but the music on the radio doesn't speak to me. I can't relate to cute guys in the hallway and teen angst. I don't feel simple pop tunes, but this," she said motioning towards her CD player, "I can relate to."

"So do you think music on the radio's kinda dumb."

"No, I don't dislike all music on the radio. I just have a hard time relating to most of it. It doesn't inspire me or make me feel anything. It just is what it is, nothing more."

"Oh," he said simply. There wasn't really a reply. He didn't know what she meant, but then again maybe he did. Music in general didn't inspire him, neither did reading or television or video games, but Raven did. Out of the four other people in the tower Raven was the only one who actually seemed to expect more out of him, to push him. She was the only one who actually inspired him to be more than a goofy kid who made up jokes and played video games. Maybe that's what drew him to her.

He had known since he met her that if wanted to be wi- around her in any way shape or form that he was going to have to change, to grow. He didn't want to be like her, but he did want to be her equal, not only in his eyes, but hers as well. What better way to see his progress than to see how Raven reacted to him? The longer he was allowed to be around her then the better he was doing, right?

At least that seemed like the answer, but something was still missing. He supposed it didn't matter right now, though. He had half an hour left to simply enjoy Raven's company and he didn't want to waste it. So he simply rested his head against her bed, allowing the music to simply flow around him without questioning it, allowing Raven to do the same.

After a few moments he felt the bed creak just a little, he turned his head just a little to see Raven's head near his. "So what inspires you," she asked. He turned his head to face her dresser again in hopes that it might hide the rising blush.

"You."


End file.
